Travelling with Demetrios of Skepsishttps://hestieia.wordpress.com
Thu, 01 Mar 2018 19:24:43 +0000enhourly1http://wordpress.com/https://s2.wp.com/i/buttonw-com.pngTravelling with Demetrios of Skepsishttps://hestieia.wordpress.com
Digital Humanities: one year agohttps://hestieia.wordpress.com/2018/03/01/digital-humanities-one-year-ago/
https://hestieia.wordpress.com/2018/03/01/digital-humanities-one-year-ago/#respondThu, 01 Mar 2018 19:22:20 +0000http://hestieia.wordpress.com/?p=2114While in Köln DH people gather for the DHd 2018 conference, under the nice title “Kritik der digitalen Vernunft”, I have been reading a nice contribution from Prof. Pierre Chiron from the Université Paris-Est Créteil, who I happened to meet one year ago, while being in Paris, actually at the very moment when he published the article. So, it is a pity that I had to wait one year before discovering this piece of writing!

It is an interesting essay on the advantages and the challenges of the digital technologies to which we are now used, often without fully understand the ways they may influence our behaviours in the long term. His focus lies on the educational environment and, perhaps a little surprisingly, he finds a way back to one of the ancient systems of rhetorical education (the progymnasmata) to describe his vision of new learning practices, where digital tools may play a crucial role.

]]>https://hestieia.wordpress.com/2018/03/01/digital-humanities-one-year-ago/feed/0hestieiaClassics and DH in Romehttps://hestieia.wordpress.com/2018/02/22/classics-and-dh-in-rome/
https://hestieia.wordpress.com/2018/02/22/classics-and-dh-in-rome/#respondThu, 22 Feb 2018 08:18:31 +0000http://hestieia.wordpress.com/?p=2116Well again an announcement for a conference. The programme cleverly mixes DH and Classics. Have a look!

]]>https://hestieia.wordpress.com/2018/02/22/classics-and-dh-in-rome/feed/0hestieiaConference on Prosgymnasmatahttps://hestieia.wordpress.com/2018/01/20/conference-on-prosgymnasmata/
https://hestieia.wordpress.com/2018/01/20/conference-on-prosgymnasmata/#respondSat, 20 Jan 2018 10:37:14 +0000http://hestieia.wordpress.com/?p=2110Let’s start the year with the announcement of a conference!

This one is on the prosgymnasmata, a term which designate a series of handbooks containing instructions for rhetorical exercises. This kind of works are also highly relevant with regard to ancient quotation practices.

Here the programme:

Thursday 18th January

I Premiers aperçus des pratiques : les documents papyrologiques

9:45 Raffaella CRIBIORE: The Versatility of Progymnasmata: Evidence from the Papyri and Libanius

]]>https://hestieia.wordpress.com/2018/01/20/conference-on-prosgymnasmata/feed/0hestieiaProgramme Colloque 2017 DEFElien en contexte!https://hestieia.wordpress.com/2017/10/29/elien-en-contexte/
https://hestieia.wordpress.com/2017/10/29/elien-en-contexte/#respondSun, 29 Oct 2017 10:49:56 +0000http://hestieia.wordpress.com/?p=1933A few days ago, I attended my first conference on Claudius Aelianus, organised by Arnauld Zucker and Marco Vespa from the University of Nice. As I just started the project, it was a timely occasion to meet scholars, who worked on Aelianus previously. The papers met all my expectations and I learned a lot about this author, the research questions linked to his works and the fascinating context, in which he lived and worked.

First Valentin Decloquement focused on the presence of Homer in Aelianus’ works and showed how Aelianus, like others – for instance Philostratus-, played with well-known Homeric questions. These authors could take position, more or less parodically, in some of the controversies, and they could even defend their own original answers in others if they liked to. Aelianus’ works allow therefore an interesting view on the reception of the reception of Homer’s poems and this aspect of their works can also be seen as an answer to previous Homeric scholarship, especially the one developed in connection with the library of Alexandria. In this respect, Valentin’s presentation allowed me to see some connections between my previous research on Demetrios of Scepsis and the new one on Aelianus.

Then, there was a whole cluster of interventions on Aelianus’ way of using the animal world to speak about human behaviours. Tim Whitmarsh emphasised the distance Aelianus maintains between the two realms, especially in similes. He compared Aelianus’ approach to the one hinted at in Ps-Lucians, Lucius or the Ass, probably a Greek precursor of Apuleius’ Golden Ass. In allowing a form of metamorphosis, the author of this text, blurs the boundaries between the human and animal world and can experiment about this other world and the lost of identity that this may bring, either on the level of human/animal or concerning, when seen from a different angle, an individual’s feelings of belonging to the Roman empire (or identity) or not. Emily Kneeborne developed this by comparing Aelianus’ use of the animal world with the one of Oppian. It has often been stated that Oppian’s and Aelianus’ works were close and that they shared common sources, but Emily’s presentation was enlightening as she showed in a well-documented analysis how differently the two authors worked and explored the animal examples to speak about human behaviours. This was then again expanded by Arnauld Zucker. He demonstrated how Aelianus keeps a difference between humans and animals despite the anthropomorphic vocabulary he often uses. The difference Aelinaus draws between the two worlds is much more subtle than acknowledged so far. It is based on a different definition of “animals”, which focuses more on the concept of “sophia” rather on the one of “logos” and this allows us to see how this author’s attitude to the notion of “nature” changed.

Finally, there was the presentation of Lucía Rodríguez-Noriega Guillén. She works on quotations, especially in Athenaeus and Aelianus, which made her contribution particularly relevant to my own project. She showed us, as did Emily, who individually Aelianus could use shared material. Her case study came from Athenaeus. It has often been stated that in some passages, Aelianus was very close to Athenaeus and that the Deipnosophistai could have been Aelianus’ sources. However, it was used, most of the time, as a critique blaming Aelianus for not having quoted Athenaeus faithfully. Lucia showed, on the contrary, how theses presumed irregularities were actually made on purpose by Aelianus. Changing the reused passages, by adding elements, by modifying attributions, or by merging ideas, allowed him to compose his own statements, despite the permanent references to previous authors and their achievements. She also presented her long-term research project on quotations in the imperial period. The intermediary results can be seen on the website of the project (inoriega.es ). It is already now an amazingly helpful tool for further research on quotations practices in antiquity! But the project should hopefully be developed in a second phase, where each of the 8’807 collected quotations will be analysed with regard to the purpose for which is what quoted, the relation to the original passage and the degree of literality!

Unfortunately the last speaker (Lionel Gourichon) could not attend the conference and his paper was read by Marco Vespa. It was, however, meant to open up the perspective and to deal with the animals mentioned in Aelianus’ work. The research focused on birds and compared the evidence archaeologists gathered about the presence and exploitation of birds in Antiquity and what Aelianus told us about them. Comparing the two approaches was very interesting, but also highlighted the fact that, when compared to other works on animals from Antiquity, the one from Aelianus remains a literary endeavour, showing the marks of his time. It was a work of compilation, which was not primarily based on observations. This is of course not a critique, but rather a reminder to see his work as a product of his time.

Finally I would like to thank the organisers for having made possible these enriching encounters!

]]>https://hestieia.wordpress.com/2017/10/29/elien-en-contexte/feed/0hestieiaaffiche_elien_webLast day in Bucharesthttps://hestieia.wordpress.com/2017/08/07/last-day-in-bucharest/
https://hestieia.wordpress.com/2017/08/07/last-day-in-bucharest/#respondMon, 07 Aug 2017 06:27:43 +0000http://hestieia.wordpress.com/?p=1911I just spent four marvellous months in Bucharest. Here some highlights!

Bucharest and its treasure:

Constanta and the Black Sea:

and finally Transylvania:

I could, of course, add many more, but it is perhaps worth to go and have a look for yourself!

]]>https://hestieia.wordpress.com/2017/08/07/last-day-in-bucharest/feed/0hestieiaLast weeks at the New Europe Collegehttps://hestieia.wordpress.com/2017/07/15/last-weeks-at-the-new-europe-college/
https://hestieia.wordpress.com/2017/07/15/last-weeks-at-the-new-europe-college/#commentsSat, 15 Jul 2017 17:07:46 +0000http://hestieia.wordpress.com/?p=1882I had a brilliant time at the NEC during my fellowship there! I particularly appreciated the weekly seminars, during which I learned a lot about many interesting fields that were more or less related to my own topic. It is a very good exercise to see one’s own topic in a broader perspective. Thanks to all who contributed to this! Here a link to some photos from the last seminar FacebookNEC. We received a nice diploma:

As my research project at the NEC was a preliminary study to a longer research that will start in September, I also discovered in Claudius Aelianus a new engaging topic. The works he wrote (huge miscellaneous compilations), the way he presents himself in the prologue/epilogue of one of them (De Natura Alimalium) and the reception he received during the ages make him an author, who can bring a lot to modern readers. It may raise the question of the aesthetic of collages as well as trigger reflections on the notion of collecting and make us consider the link between ordering items and one’s own cultural background, as the transmission of knowledge always implies a selection or a prioritisation. This often remains hidden, but influences the way we see and understand the world around us.

While being here, I also discovered a very pleasant city with nice people and many charming places.

]]>https://hestieia.wordpress.com/2017/07/15/last-weeks-at-the-new-europe-college/feed/1hestieiaContacts between Latin literature and Greek imperial literaturehttps://hestieia.wordpress.com/2017/06/05/contacts-between-latin-literature-and-greek-imperial-literature/
https://hestieia.wordpress.com/2017/06/05/contacts-between-latin-literature-and-greek-imperial-literature/#respondMon, 05 Jun 2017 08:14:16 +0000http://hestieia.wordpress.com/?p=1858Next Saturday (10th of June) there will be a very interesting conference at the Université Lille 3. It is about the hidden way imperial authors writing in Greek interact with previous literature written in Latin. I wished I could attend!

]]>https://hestieia.wordpress.com/2017/06/05/contacts-between-latin-literature-and-greek-imperial-literature/feed/0hestieiaThe History of Humanityhttps://hestieia.wordpress.com/2017/05/06/the-history-of-humanities/
https://hestieia.wordpress.com/2017/05/06/the-history-of-humanities/#respondSat, 06 May 2017 08:44:41 +0000http://hestieia.wordpress.com/?p=1788It is now the second time I hear from this huge project of the UNESCO. The first time it was at the GISFOH Sympsion in Potsdam last September. Now, being at the New Europe College in Romania, I attended another paper on this project. It was given by Bogdan C. Iacob, researcher from the project: Turning Global: Socialist Experts during the Cold War (1960s-1980s).

It started in 1947, just after the WW II and had two phases: it was first a History of Mankind and then became a History of Humanity. Both presentations underlined the difficulties the project encountered and the many controversies it fostered as the project struggled to get a global perspective, by taking account of all kind of new players.

At the GISFOH in Potsdam the focus was on the South and the paper presented the rise of Africa in the international context and its claim to have the right to tell its own history. Last week at the weekly NEC-seminars we learned about how the Balkans got their way back into History.

It is an amazingly large project, with each volume having grown to over 1000 pages, but nonetheless, with all the debates and disagreements among the participants, it reached a conclusion in 2009 and the volume are now available:

Of course I had a quick look at volume III, which contains the timespan under which the field of Classics falls! A surprising large number of French Classics scholars took part in the undertaking….

]]>https://hestieia.wordpress.com/2017/05/06/the-history-of-humanities/feed/0hestieiaOvid everywhere!https://hestieia.wordpress.com/2017/03/18/ovid-everywhere/
https://hestieia.wordpress.com/2017/03/18/ovid-everywhere/#respondSat, 18 Mar 2017 00:12:58 +0000http://hestieia.wordpress.com/?p=1696It is a special year for studies on Ovid. 2ooo year ago the great poet vanished and scholars from all over the place take the opportunity to remember the author and his achievements. Here a list of those I already spotted, or attended: